Demon Turning
Demon Turning, or the Turning, is the process by which a human is made into a demon. It involves a great deal of torture over a long time period; the stronger and more moral a soul is, the longer it will generally take. It has several milestones which are common to every soul which goes through the process and which are sometimes referred to by demons, and which mark specific permanent damages caused to the soul as it is being warped. Because each human is unique they will experience each step somewhat differently; however, each human will experience each step at one point or another, and each of them in the order listed below. Entering Hell Technically the first step of the process of tormenting the soul is the psychological experience of having entered Hell. Reactions to the Gates of Hell often include intense feelings of guilt and fear, having to do with being faced with the reality of genuinely being there. The experience of being in Hell is inherently uncomfortable; there is an aura of discomfort that is generally present, as though the soul simply can not make themselves comfortable. The Novix The torture process begins as any other torture process would: the human is assigned a torturer, who then proceeds to use their judgment and their knowledge of the life of the human to determine what the best means of torturing the human is. Torture includes psychological torment as well as physical, and over time as the torturer discovers more about what the torturee responds to, and the torturee becomes familiar with their torturer's style, they grow a bond together. This bond is strengthened during each step which they proceed through together. Generally speaking the torturer is chosen very carefully and the status of the torturer will roughly coincide with the status of the torturee. This first period of time before what is known as the Un-Seeing is called the Novix, or Beginning. It is the period when the soul is most human. The Un-Seeing The first sign that the soul is progressing is the point where the human is no longer able to function mentally because of severe physical and mental trauma. It is known as Un-Seeing because the most common sign is visual hallucinations, generally of a religious nature, although auditory hallucinations, obsessive thoughts, mania, catatonia, and aggression are also common. The hallucinations are encouraged by whatever means are available; generally the desire is to create an obsession in the subject with the fact that they've been abandoned to Hell. The First Interim After the Un-Seeing follows another period of torture during which the subject is broken down further, which is known as the Interim, up until the Splintering. The Splintering From the outside, this appears as a shift from the soul begging the torturer to stop, to the soul begging to be injured more. The name comes from the inner experience of the step, during which the soul finds that the feeling of their pain has left their body and stands beside them as some kind of object, animal, or person, depending on the soul in question. Generally the object, animal, or person is a friendly one, and this marks a shift in their psyche from believing that they are being wronged by their torturer to believing that their torturer is helping them become the strongest that they can become. This does not prevent the pain from being real or experienced by the demon; it merely means that the demon is shifting toward an Infernal mindset. The Second Interim The name for the period of torture between the Splintering and the White Sleep is known as the Second Interim. The White Sleep Eventually after the Splintering and the torture after it, the human soul will fall into a deep slumber from which they can not be woken by the outside. The soul must wake on their own. Depending on their torturing demon they might be placed onto a bed, or simply left in the straps where they were held during the torture. Once they have awoken, they are a freshly made demon, and are able to be released to the outside realm of Hell. Post-Torture Life In Hell Generally speaking the soul will follow the footsteps of their torturing demon, becoming a member of that demon's social circle and status. There are exceptions, sometimes, but usually the soul feels most comfortable with their torturer who then functions as something of a mentor to them, showing them how things are done in Hell. However, if the torturer neglects them or the new demon is not interested in staying around, they might strike out in a totally different direction; however this is difficult as entry to the guilds and the upward mobility they offer depends somewhat on being known by the members already in the guild. Often these "orphaned" demons wind up in the lowest ranks. The occupants of Dis are generally of this kind. Category:Infernal Culture Category:Hell Category:Demons Category:Supernatural